Sea Kayakers, I was wondering who else has had the guts to cut through the fiberglass and grind down the gelcoat of a brand new sea kayak? I have a new Boreal Design Ellesmere, and I am extremely happy with the kayak, except for one thing, which is that the skeg is a piece of crap. As long as it is clean, it works fine, but it doesn't stay clean doing surf launches and landing on the sandy beaches of Southern California. The surf blasts sand into the skeg, and it jams up. Without the skeg, the kayak weathercocked and was squirrelly, because there is a lot of rocker in the last few feet of the keel line at the stern. Well, I couldn't have a skeg that jammed almost everytime I did a surf launch or landing, which is typical around here, so I went to work. The skeg was thrown in the trash and skeg box cut out (to allow more storage room). Then using epoxy and fiberglass I built an integral skeg, very similar to the Nordkapp HM or the Mariner models. I never would've had the guts to do it on a new kayak if I hadn't done it very successfully before on a older Arctic Hawk that I own. Are there many other practitioners of hull modification out there? Duane Strosaker www.rollordrown.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
DuaneStrosaker wrote: > Are there many other practitioners of hull modification out there? Well, no actual hull modifications, since I usually paddle plastic boats. But on the other hand: I am planning to buy a new boat, which will be imported to the Netherlands next spring, and already I am planning a week in my workshop to get it the way I want it. The boat in question is a Rainbow Oasis. I bought the standard version last spring, as a guest boat. It is an easy tracker, quite stable and comfortable. While trying it out (a won't put any guest in a boat I don't know) I fell completely in love with the boat: I can handroll it, it is an incredible surfer, it REALLY doesn't need a skeg or rudder, even in high winds, and it's the kind of boat where you can throw out your ancor, put your feet on the deck and start reading a book for the rest of the afternoon. I am planning to buy the expedition version of the same boat, to replace my Prijon Seayak. Since I have a boat of the same design, I know the shortcomings. There may be more in the parts I don't know: Bulkheads and hatches. A little estimate of the work involved: - Saw away part of the cockpit coaming, heatup and bend the rest out of the way; - Adding decklines with a handfull of supports; - Drilling about 10 extra holes in the seat, so water drains out easily; - Adding a keelson; - Modifying a sprayskirt; - Adding thighbraces; - Adding a pump, drilling holes for the drainpipe and the switch - Replacing the toggles; - Drilling a hole big enough to put a chain through, so I can lock the boat to the roof of my car; - Moving the chair back, so my legs will fit in; - Adding supports for a spare paddle. I would like to buy a brandnew boat that totally fits my needs and taste, but since that seems to be impossible, I am happy to buy a boat, consider it to be a nice basis to start, and start drilling holes before I even put it in the water the first time. I think any seakayakker, and any kayakker that moves more then a mile from civilization, should be able to maintain his own boat. When you loose your rudder, damage a hatch or the hull, break a paddle, or whatever disaster that can happen, you should have the skills to make a quick fix to get you going again. The best way to practice those skills is maintaining your own boat. By doing that, you will know the weak points of your craft, the material and tools to make quick fixes on a beach, and hopefully you will train your creativity in working with boats. When stranded on a remote shore with a problem, you will probably have brought the tools and material to fix it, and if not, at least you will have learned to think about solutions instead of just screaming in panic and releasing your flares. Happy drilling, Niels. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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